The Dark Material Podcast: His Dark Materials read-along

We’re taking a break from our usual chapter readthrough to respond to questions and comments from you lovely listeners!

If you have any questions, comments or recommendations for films / books with HDM parallels, then we’d love to hear from you, at [email protected] or any of our social media profiles below. In the meantime: enjoy!

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In this episode, we join Will and Balthamos as they travel through the recently flooded lands of central Siberia. As they move through a village, Will is invited for lunch with the local priest, who shares some interesting news about the next town and Will’s possible onward journey.

Join us as we get very confused about geography, we write The Gospel According to Iain and tally up Creepy Points.

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Although there are multiple small settlements called Kholodnoye, we think the village in the book could be based on this one.

If you’re intrigued or nostalgic about our random Eddie Izzard reference this week, here is the original sketch we are referring to (on the film The Great Escape), where Izzard shows off his impressive geography skills.

This is the article by Lo the Lynx on the parallels between the witches in His Dark Materials and creatures in Scadinavian folklore. Reminder: if you’ve read up to this point with us, there are not any other spoilers in this essay for His Dark Materials, but one teeny tiny spoiler for The Secret Commonwealth (it is that we hear of a very minor story which Lyra hears from someone to do with witches, but it’s not at all part of the main plot). So if you’re comfortable with that level of spoiler, read on!

Here is the paper Amy refers to on effects of alcohol in children

Here is the article that Iain references this week by Marek Oziewicz on Representations of Eastern European people in His Dark Materials, The Bartimaeus Trilogy and the Harry Potter series.

Last but not least, this is probably how subtle Amy was in her attempts to be like super stealthy Will.

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Music by: Jaymen Persaud, performed by Claire Wickes

www.thedarkmaterialpodcast.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/darkmaterialpodcast

Twitter: @darkmaterialpod

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Sorry about the terrible sound quality this week! We managed to get through the whole episode without realising we’d been using the wrong mic the whole time....back to our usual standards next episode!

In this episode, we join Mary as she travels through the countryside of Cittigazze, a week after she moved over from her own world. She’s heading deep into the countryside and unsure of where to go next - so she uses some yarrow sticks and her copy of The Book of Changes to find out more about what she should do next.

Join us as we discuss peach-coconut hybrids, the tiniest bird in the world and scratch our heads over how a wheel could evolve.

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You can read the section which this chapter’s Milton quote is from here

If you really want to learn how to read the I Ching with yarrow stalks, there are instructions here. Good luck!

More information on Mary’s Book of Changes reading for hexagram 27, check this out.

We are in love with the Bee Hummingbird! Facts here, the EXCELLENT human hand vs bird size comparison here or a video of one here!

Is Amy right or wrong with her kangaroo theory? Here’s a video which might help explain where we’re coming from!

More on the reasoning behind why no bio wheels have evolved in nature here.

If you want to see Michael Palin being giggled at for his pronunciation skills, then check out this video!

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Music by: Jaymen Persaud, performed by Claire Wickes

www.thedarkmaterialpodcast.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/darkmaterialpodcast

Twitter: @darkmaterialpod

Instagram: @thedarkmaterialpodcast

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In this episode, we hide high in the rafters of St Jerome’s college and watch over a hearing at the Consistorial Court of Discipline. Fra Pavel - the alethiometrist - is being questioned by a panel of the senior members of the Court: including the intense President of the Court, Father MacPhail.

Join us as we discuss real-world absolution, a typical Greek myth and nuclear Russian Dolls.

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Find out which branch of the Magisterium you are, with this silly quiz we put together!

More on Jerome (of Saint Jerome) here, and more on Philomel here, who we talk about this episode in the context of a Greek myth.

If you want to learn more about the confusing history of the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem, then check here as a starting point. You can also read the poem by Byron here.

If you really need a far better explanation of the nuclear bomb Russian Doll ignition process, then you can read more here.

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Music by: Jaymen Persaud, performed by Claire Wickes

www.thedarkmaterialpodcast.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/darkmaterialpodcast

Twitter: @darkmaterialpod

Instagram: @thedarkmaterialpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedarkmaterialpodcast

Iain is very excitable this week as it’s our first Asriel-centric chapter for a long time! We join him in his fortress of war, as he discusses their next steps with his captain of spies, Lord Roke. Asriel then receives an unexpected visit from a wounded angel, who has some very important news for him.

Join us as we fail at bible family trees, invent our own branches of the Magisterium and premiere our Gallivespian voices.

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Register for the free Hay Festival His Dark Materials panel here, with Jane Tranter, Dafne Keen, Amir Wilson and Jack Thorne.

Learn more about and see pictures of real-life sulphur lakes Kawah Ijen and Daikoku Sulphur Cauldron.

Here some high level detail about the core idea of a Republic (in theory!)

Badass but bullshit myths on the Sword of St Michael and his apparitions here.

Test yourself against us on Enoch’s family tree! You can only do better than us…

More on the beautiful and interesting design of the Gyropter here.

On Teucer Basilides: learn more about his possible namesakes here for Basilides, here for Teucer and here for Teucer of Babylon.

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Music by: Jaymen Persaud, performed by Claire Wickes

www.thedarkmaterialpodcast.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/darkmaterialpodcast

Twitter: @darkmaterialpod

Instagram: @thedarkmaterialpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedarkmaterialpodcast

In this episode, we travel with Ama and her daemon Kulang to a monastery far away in the Himalayas, where she seeks the help of a highly respected healer. She is looking for a remedy which she can use to wake Lyra from her sleep - won’t the beautiful strange woman in the cave be happy!

Join us as we chat about war-chickens, creepy death photographs and stupid villain tropes.

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You can read the poem for this week by Emily Dickenson here, or a light-hearted intro to her life and work here.

Some more about the depressing tradition of menstruation huts here.

HENCH CHICKEN BREED!

Is this the monastery that Ama visits? It’s roughly in the right place we think….

More about Tulkus in general here, or an interesting and entertaining introduction to the current political dilemma of the Dalai and Panchen Lama here.

Is there a link between zoosadism and psychopathy? There are claims, but more in this article here.

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Music by: Jaymen Persaud, performed by Claire Wickes

www.thedarkmaterialpodcast.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/darkmaterialpodcast

Twitter: @darkmaterialpod

Instagram: @thedarkmaterialpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedarkmaterialpodcast

In this episode, we join Serafina as she speeds over the arctic landscapes of her own world. She’s looking for Iorek Byrnison, as she has some tragic news to share with him. And she is burning with remorse, fear and rage.

Join us as we have fun doing some frenetic fox/ghast impressions, ponder the details of language acquisition and disagree about some taboos.

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You can read the Knight’s Tomb by Samuel Taylor Coleridge here.

Some pictures and more information on Purple Saxifrage here.

Information on ritualised cannibalism here and endocannibalism here.

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Music by: Jaymen Persaud, performed by Claire Wickes

www.thedarkmaterialpodcast.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/darkmaterialpodcast

Twitter: @darkmaterialpod

Instagram: @thedarkmaterialpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedarkmaterialpodcast

In this episode, we are reunited with Will, picking up from where we left him at the end of the Subtle Knife: with Lyra lost and in the company of two angels called Balthamos and Baruch.

Join us as Amy damages Iain’s ears, Iain explains his glorious artistic vision for Metatron’s spear and we speculate about the Angel Alethiometer Switchboard system.

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The chapter quote for this week is from this section of the Book of Job.

Very high level information on the hierarchy of angels here.

More on the delicious history of Kendal Mint cake here!

Here is the great picture of Metatron as interpreted in Islam - as a great and powerful scribe angel.

You can learn more about names of god in Judaism here - or more about Yahweh, El and the Canaan Late Bronze Age.

We highly recommend The Prancing Pony Podcast to any Tolkien fans - one of our big inspirations for starting our own podcast journey!

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Music by: Jaymen Persaud, performed by Claire Wickes

www.thedarkmaterialpodcast.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/darkmaterialpodcast

Twitter: @darkmaterialpod

Instagram: @thedarkmaterialpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedarkmaterialpodcast

Wahoooo the Amber Spyglass is here! This week, we travel to a distant and rainbow-filled valley, to find Mrs Coulter camping out in a remote Himalayan cave. But she’s not alone…

Join us as we unenthusiastically sing some hymns, get sad about real-world rainbow valleys and both of us forget to take notes on different parts of the text.

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Here is a video of O Worship the King being sung in a highly average way (genuinely the first video that came up on search!)

You can read Raine Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies online here, and read about some of that background to Rilke writing the pieces here.

You can read William Blake’s Little Girl Lost here, and a little more about the references of this poem here.

If you too want to be disturbed and saddened by Everest’s real world rainbow valley, then feel free to read this article!

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Music by: Jaymen Persaud, performed by Claire Wickes

www.thedarkmaterialpodcast.com

Patreon: www.patreon.com/darkmaterialpodcast

Twitter: @darkmaterialpod

Instagram: @thedarkmaterialpodcast

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedarkmaterialpodcast

Join us in this very special bonus episode as we hold our second interview with the maker of the sharpest, subtlest and most shadow-coloured props on His Dark Materials - Michael van Kesteren!

We spoke to Michael about his work on Season 1 last summer (including creating the alethiometer), but returned to pick his brains about props in Season 2 - including the subtlest knife of them all, a giant telescope, a famous Winchester rifle and much more besides!

We do get overexcited and Amber Spyglass spoilery at one point, but we moved this section to the end: be wary of our spoiler warning after our outro music and stop there if you don’t want spoilers!

A HUGE thank you to Michael for giving us his time: you can find him at the links below.

We definitely recommend taking look through his portfolio here, showcasing lots of gorgeous things he has designed and created!

Twitter: @michaelveekay1

Instagram: @michaelveekay

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@darkmaterialpod

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